Elizabeth Warren Says She Won’t Take NRA Money – Not That They’re Offering

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren is promising not to take any campaign donations from the National Rifle Association – even though she has never been offered any.

“I’m running for re-election to U.S. Senate here in Massachusetts, and I pledge not to take a single penny from the National Rifle Association. The people of Massachusetts deserve to be represented by someone who will put their interests ahead of the NRA’s demands,” Warren says in a video posted on NowThis.

Warren, a Cambridge Democrat, is a frequent critic of the NRA, and she supports banning what she calls “large-capacity ammunition feeding devices” and “assault weapons.”

In the video Warren blames an increase in gun violence in Boston during the first six months of 2017 on the prevalence of guns, and she says Congress isn’t doing anything about guns because of donations from the National Rifle Association and affiliates.

“They have Republican politicians right in their pockets,” Warren says.

Warren became the first U.S. senator to take the No NRA Money pledge, which includes a list of a few hundred candidates around the country for federal, state, and local offices. Most are Democrats.

Warren’s declaration has drawn hoots from critics, including a spokesman for one of the Republicans running for the right to challenge her in November, state Representative Geoff Diehl (R-Whitman).

“Warren has never stood up for people’s Second Amendment rights, so it is another media stunt to gain exposure,” said Holly Robichaud, a spokesman for Diehl, in an email message Tuesday. “She should also pledge not to take money from taxpayers because she has done nothing to help them as well.”

Another GOP candidate, Beth Lindstrom, who served as state secretary of consumer affairs under former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, called out Warren for insincerity.

“What a transparently political act,” Lindstrom said in a written statement. “Elizabeth Warren would like for people to think she’s brave for refusing to take NRA money that has never been forthcoming in the first place. It would be more meaningful as someone who postures as an anti-Wall Street candidate if she stopped taking millions of dollars in campaign cash from Wall Street, but don’t hold your breath. A profile in courage she is not.”

Diehl and Lindstrom are two of the three candidates running for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate in September. The other is businessman John Kingston. A not-for-profit organization affiliated with Mr. Kingston owns a modest number of shares in Boston Media Networks, the company that operates New Boston Post.